The Hearts of Lonely People
by OnlySecondsAway
Summary: At a party in college, Steve and Tony both treat their loneliness with the comfort of alcohol and a random person. But who will they actually go home with? This is part of my Steve/Tony college AU, and goes after Take Me Back, and before Cemetery Weather.
1. Love As If You Didn't Know At All

**A/N:** This is part of the college AU, going after Take Me Back, and before Cemetery Weather. Enjoy!

* * *

Steve isn't fond of parties, so he's not quite sure why he's spending yet another Thursday night in some strangers' apartment. It isn't that he's not social; it's just that he prefers the quiet of his dorm room to the pounding rap music that's currently playing over the speakers. Not to mention, he'd only gotten off work an hour ago, and he'd prefer to wind down after his nine hour shift with his sketch pad and a World War II documentary.

Instead, he's standing against a wall in a crowded living room, with a red Solo cup filled with God-knows-what. At least it'll take the edge off, he figures as he takes another sip, wincing slightly. The awkward blonde glances at his watch; he's only been here an hour, but it feels like so much longer. Unfortunately, it's also only ten thirty, so he knows he'll be here for quite a bit longer.

He'll stay until Tony leaves, or until he has to carry the boy out; whichever comes first. Not that Tony even _cares_ if he stays. He wants him there, sure, since they're best friends. But the younger boy would never admit he needs Steve to make sure he's safe. He reasonably knows he can't _stop_ Tony from drinking, but he can at least try to make sure he gets home safe and sound.

While he waits, he finishes off the concoction he'd been handed upon entering the apartment, and then opts for a good, old-fashioned beer. Once he's got a good buzz going, he finds it a little easier to socialize. He's nice enough to the girls who come up to him, but he also tries to make sure they can see he's not interested.

It's embarrassing, but Steve is fully willing to admit he's basically always been single. He's dated a few guys here and there, but he just never really connected with any of them. Then, of course, there's his crush on Tony; if one calls being completely head-over-heels in love a "crush." He's never acted on it, though. First of all, he knows Tony is straight; the kid practically beds a new girl a few times a weekend. Tony is also still only seventeen; hell, he was only _sixteen_ when they'd met a year ago, a full four years younger than Steve.

Steve decides to seek out more of the jungle juice he'd been given early, feeling suddenly glum about his love life. After a another cup-full or two scooped out of the large bucket it's in, Steve can definitively say he's wasted. Even he can't believe he's actually this drunk, especially since he's there to look after their group's resident binge drinker. It does make everything feel better, though. He starts to relax, and when another guy approaches him to dance, he even accepts it.

Actually, this guy is kind of cute. He's smaller than Steve, slender but still muscular. He has dark hair, and dark eyes to match. His skin is tan, not quite in a natural, glowing way, but still, he has a nice smile. They dance for a while, getting a little closer with each song, until they're grinding on each other; much like the other couples in the room. Normally, Steve might be embarrassed by this kind of behavior, but he's had a little bit too much to drink to care.

It just feels good, to have someone's body against his own. The nameless brunette is squeezing his ass and sucking on his neck. Steve leans into it, capturing the other man's lips in a drunken kiss. And then the smaller man is leading Steve away from the living room, and toward a bedroom, and Steve doesn't mind. He's drunk, he's horny, and damn this guy feels good. As they make their way down the hallway, groping and pawing each other, they look for an empty room. They find a door that's still slightly ajar, and take that as a good sign. What they find, however, is not what Steve expected.

Inside, Steve freezes. The small brunette tries to lead him to another room, but Steve is stuck where he is. On the bed, naked and entangled with a tall, blonde football player, is Tony. Steve literally can't believe his eyes. Tony is _straight_. He sleeps with _girls_.

What's also disturbing Steve, is that this isn't some eighteen year old freshman that Tony usually goes for, it's a twenty-two year old senior. He's actually someone Steve and Tony know, being a teammate of Thor and Clint's. He's about six feet tall, with short bleached-blonde hair, and blue eyes. And while he's a pretty attractive guy, he's always irked Steve; he seems fake, untrustworthy.

Seething, Steve pulls Tony out of the bed and hastily dresses the blacked out kid, before carrying him back to his dorm. He'd have Thor deal with the blonde prick later.

Still drunk himself, Steve is trying to process what's just happened. He knows Tony isn't gay, so is he bisexual? Or was this some kind of drunken college mistake he'll swear he doesn't remember? Steve doesn't want to get his hopes up, but he knows that even drunk, Tony knows what he's doing; it's just his judgment that's off.

Steve, surprisingly, makes it back to his dorm, and is able to deposit Tony on the bed, before passing out next to him.

The next morning he wakes up with his arms wrapped around Tony, and slowly pulls away; he doesn't want to wake the younger man. His head is throbbing, he discovers once he moves it, and his mouth is as dry as a wad full of paper towels. Steve is fairly certain he's never had a hangover like this before, and can't even fathom how Tony wakes up like this so often. He's wondering what happened last night, when he suddenly starts to get flashes of it.

The most important thing he remembers is that Tony likes guys. Maybe there's hope then, after all, he muses while downing the water bottle on the table next to the bed. Then again, he knows he probably isn't Tony's type and that Tony doesn't actually _date _anyone; and Steve doesn't want to be just another one of the notches on Tony's bed post.

Right now, he decides, it isn't all that important, so he lies back down with Tony still next to him.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm thinking I might right this from Tony's point of view, and add it on as a second chapter. Would that be interesting?


	2. The Morning After

When Tony wakes up to the sound of birds outside the window, he's fairly certain he's never wanted to kill a living creature more. With every cheerful chirp he feels a piercing stab in his head. When he braves opening his eyes, he quickly snaps them back shut, the sunlight coming in the open window burning his eyes. He's pretty sure he's dying.

He's also not sure where he is; not that that's a new feeling for him. Nor is the hangover, given that he's woken up this way four times in the last ten days. At seventeen, he's had more than enough practice in partying, and is more than familiar with the morning after.

But he still isn't sure where he is. He knows he went to a party with Steve last night, whom he quickly lost in the crowd. It's not his fault, really, that Steve is so skilled at being invisible when he's uncomfortable. He also notices that there is definitely a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist, one hand resting on his hip. He's not surprised it's a pair of male arms; he figured he'd get drunk enough to finally sleep with a guy sooner or later. He's known he's bi since he was in high school.

What's more interesting, Tony thinks, is that he's actually currently fully clothed in his outfit he wore to the party. He remembers bits and pieces of last night, and he definitely remembers sleeping with someone. He remembers dancing with someone, was it that guy on the football team?

Tony tries to open his eyes again, ever so slightly, to try and see where he is. He sees that the arms around him have light blonde hair on them. So it's that football player he'd been drunkenly grinding on. He's mostly surprised the guy is gay, since he's one of the biggest bullies he's ever met.

But again, he's dressed, and that's weird. Tony tries opening his eyes, and starts to feel very strange. This isn't some random man's dorm room, nor is it his own. It's not a room in the house where the party was, since the window's a few stories up. No, he's in Steve's dorm. And so he's not nauseas from the hangover anymore, he's just scared. Scared he drunkenly ruined a friendship, scared he did something he'll regret, scared he'll hurt Steve.

Tony feels Steve start to stir, and freezes.

"You up?" Steve whispers.

"Yeah," Tony replies tentatively.

"Oh cool," he says, still speaking quietly. "I'm going to grab a water and some aspirin, my head is killing me. You need any?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. This hangover is killing me," he agrees, and then he decides to broach the subject of last night. "Yeah, I barely remember anything from last night," he adds, looking cautiously at Steve.

"Yeah, that shit they were handing out at the party was pretty strong," he says, uncapping a water bottle and swallowing it along with a few pills, before handing the two bottles to Tony. "But from what I remember, I dragged your drunken ass back here after finding you in bed with that oaf of a football player."

"Oh, okay. So I did hook up with that blonde guy?" He asks, relieved he'd only just actually slept with Steve.

"As far as I could tell, yeah," Steve sounds on edge to Tony, but he can't really tell why.

"You okay?" The younger boy asks.

"What? Yes. Yes, I'm fine, Tony," he seems, concerned, maybe? "I just think we need to talk about some things."

Tony grimaces, that's never a good thing, but he nods at Steve to let him know he can continue.

"The thing is, Tony, you're _seventeen_. And I know how intelligent you are. I know that you can take care of yourself. I know that. But that's the thing, you're only seventeen. I don't want to see you just get _fucked up_ all the time, and sleep with random strangers. That football player is a senior, and he's already _twenty-two_," he pauses for a second, studying Tony's reaction. "I just, I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt," Steve looks concerned.

Tony isn't even sure what to say to this. The way Steve says it makes it sound so _bad_. That guy, he'd just seemed _good enough_; at least for the night. He was tall, had bleached-blonde, and had blue eyes. He was a little too muscular, but he'd looked pretty good.

"I-I yeah. I know. It's just, sometimes I guess I don't think," Tony knows he's just starting to babble. "He probably wasn't my best choice. But I mean, it's not really even that big of a deal. It's just sex, and we were drunk. And the age difference isn't that big of a deal. We're both seniors, so the age thing doesn't really matter.

"If it were about age, I'd have to sleep with high school kids, and that just seems like it'd be weird, and I don't know," he knows Steve is staring at him like he's a moron, and that's probably because he _is_ a moron. The more he speaks, the more utterly ridiculous he knows he sounds. "I'm surprised you care. No one really ever cares. I was just glad when you woke up and told me it wasn't _you_ I'd slept with. That would've been just weird, I think…" he starts to trail off his babbling.

"Okay, first of all, of course we didn't sleep together. Again, you're seventeen, and I'm twenty-one. That's considered _rape_, Tony. So trust me, Clint and Thor will be having a chat with their teammate about that.

"Second, of course I care about you. You're my best friend. You're who I'm closest to in this world. You know that. So yes, Tony, I care," he finishes. Tony doesn't quite notice that the only reason he said he wouldn't have slept with him was their age difference; and Steve is glad he didn't, his honesty has always been a weakness.

"Well, thank, I guess," Tony says, rubbing his eyes. "For bringing me home, I mean. And going to the party, even. You always take care of me," Tony says, feeling a little pathetic one the words come out.

"You're welcome. And of course I do."

This whole time, Steve has been changing and trying to get ready for work, which he realizes he would have been late for if Tony hadn't woke him up with his movement. He leans down and gives Tony a kiss on the top of his head.

"I have work now. You can stay here as long as you'd like, so you don't look like you're doing the walk of shame. Just don't make a mess, and _don't throw up_ _again_."

Tony knows he's not kidding. He knows he'll never live that one down; then again, most people don't let their friends forget that they threw up all over their bed.

"I'll be good," he reassures. "Scout's honor," he adds, putting up what he thinks is some kind of Boy Scout sign.

Steve just laughs at him and says goodbye as he rushes out the door, leaving Tony alone to fall back into bed. As he's falling back asleep, he vaguely remembers what Steve had said regarding sleeping with him, but figures he had probably just been giving a reason, not necessarily all of them.


End file.
